Wardrobe rack



Nov. 3,1959 0. E. GINGHER ETAL WARDROBE RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Feb.15, 1956 INVENTORS CARL E Gl/VGHER CARL E. 6/N6HER,J

r" jW /W lg ATTORNEYS WARDROBE RACK Filed Feb. 15, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTORS CARL E. Gl/VGHER CARL E. Gl/VG'HER, Jr.

BY 7,4 a

ATTORNEYS- Unitd S es Patch? WARDROBE RACK Carl E. Gingher and Carl E.Gingher, Jr., Scranton, Pa.,

assignors, by mesneassignments, to Gingher Manufactoring Company,Scranton, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 15,1956, Serial No. 565,753

6 Claims. (Cl. 211-62) The present invention relates to clothes valets,more particularly, to a wardrobe rack having an inclined supportingsurface for rubber footwear and corresponding umbrella holders and coathanger positions, and comprising a plurality of vertically spacedshelves supported by a vertical post upstanding from a base section withsaid several components being readily assembled or disassembled withoutuse of tools in a short period of time.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an improvement inwardrobe racks.

It is another object of this invention to provide a wardrobe rack whichwill readily accommodate coats, hats, umbrellas and footwear.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a wardrobe rackwhich may be quickly disassembled into a shelf section, a base sectionand an interconnecting post, and which components may be similarlyassembled in a short period of time without the use of tools andbyrelatively unskilled personnel into the rack.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a wardrobe rackhaving umbrella holders and cooperating therewith drip trays which maybe readily emptied.

It is still another object'of this invention to provide a wardrobe rackhaving an easily accessible rack for receiving rubber footwear and thelike.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a mounting forracks and the like which is readily adapted toprovide mounting forvarious types of base supports, including casters and resilient cushionpads.

It is still an additional object of this invention to provide a stablewardrobe rack which will retain its stability regardless of the positionof wearing apparel thereon.

-It is yet another object of this invention to provide a wardrobe rackwhich embodies a simple construction and which may be readily fabricatedfrom various forms of sheet metal.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent uponreference to the accompanying description when taken in conjunction withthe following drawings, wherein:

'Fig. 1 is an over-all perspective view of the wardrobe rack disclosedas this invention;

Fig. 2is a three-quarter rear view. from above of the base section;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the base section shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view looking upwardly at the under surface ofthe base to illustrate the mounting of the base pads upon the base; v

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the lines 55 of Fig. 4 and showsthe base mounting plate adapted to retain resilient base pads;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of that portion of the baseillustrated in Fig. 4 but having a portion of the side wall cut away toshow the manner in which a caster is mounted upon the base mountingplate of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7 is an over-all perspective view fromabove of a ice modificationhaving a greater capacity than the wardrobe rack of this invention shownin Fig. 1.

Returning now to the drawings, more particularly to Fig. 1 wherein likereference symbols indicate the same parts throughout the various views,1 indicates generally a a wardrobe rack constructed in accordance withthe teachings of this invention. The wardrobe rack 1 essentiallycomprises a shelf section 2, a base section 3 and a vertical post 4which supports the shelf secton upon the base section. These threecomponents are detachably connected together in a manner which will belater described. 1

The shelf section 2 comprises a plurality of shelves 10, each of whichis mounted upon the back member 5 by a bracket 11. As may be seen inFig. 1, the brackets 11 have a U shaped cross section and are taperedlongitudinally. At the deeper end of each of the brackets 11, the sidesthereof are extended to straddle the back member 5. The extended sidesof each of the brackets are then appropriately attached to the backmember 5, such as by spot welding.

The upper edges of each of the brackets 11 are bent outwardly to formflanges 13. These flanges 13 are attached to the lower surfaces of eachof the shelves 10 by spot welding.

The shelves 10 are formed from a relatively light sheet metal and areperforated with openings.

Each of the shelf openings have the edges thereof bent downwardly andthe extreme portion of the downwardly bent edges are again bent inwardlyof the opening so that the general shape of the edges of each of theopenings is substantially a Z. t

The front side of each of the shelves are bent downwardly as indicatedat 17. The rear edges of each of the shelves 10 are bent upwardly toform a stop to prevent objects being placed upon the shelves from beingpushed over the rear edges thereof.

A hanger member 19 depends from the front edge of the lowermost of theshelves 10. The hanger member 19 comprises a strip of sheet metal havinga plurality of spaced openings 20 therein. Each of the openings 20 issubstantially egg-shaped with the narrow end being directed downwardly.The hangers are self-aligned when the hooked handles of the hangers areinserted within the openings 20. The shape of the openings, togetherwith the weight of the hanger, result in the hanger being positioned inthe narrow lower end of each of the openings solid with othercross-sections being used. The post is dimensioned so that the endsthereof may be readily received in either the back member 5 of the shelfsection or a socket upon the base section.

Proceeding next to the base section 3, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, thiscomponent of the wardrobe rack comprises a T base 21 which has a crosspiece 22 and a front piece 23. Both the cross piece 22 and the frontpiece 23 comprise channel shaped sheet metal members and the extrerneends of each piece are closed as indicated at 24.

Each of the closed ends 24 of the base has mounted therein a basesupport member 25 which may be seen in Figs. 4 and 5. The base supportmember 25 is channel-shaped and comprises a web 26 and flanges 27 and28. The flange 27 which is directed inwardly of the base has anoutwardly bent portion 29. The base support member 25 is mounted on theunder surface of the T base by attaching the bent portion 29 to theunder surface of the base and by attaching the flange 28 to the closedend 24, as shown in Fig. 5.

Gripping arms 30 are punched from the web 26 along each of the bentedges thereof. The gripping arms 30 are inclined inwardly and are forthe purpose of securing a base mount upon the base support member.

Fig. 5 shows a resilient pad 31 mounted on the base support member 25.The resilient pad 31 is squareand of a non-scuffing composition. It-iscup shaped'and thus provides the utmost resistance to collapse with agreater portion of itself forming to the contour of the floor contactarea at the extreme outer ends of the T base 21.

In Fig. 6 there is illustrated a caster 32 which is similarly mountedupon the base support member by being gripped by the arms ,30 being bentover the edges of the caster base.

Upstanding from the T base at the intersection of the cross piece 22 andthe front piece 23 is a socket 33. As seen in Fig. 2, the socket 33 ischannel-shaped and has the edges 34 thereof bent inwardly. The upperends of the edges 34 are joined by a gusset plate 35 and the lower endsare similarly joined by a gusset plate 36.

An umbrella rack 37 is mounted upon the cross piece 22 of the T base 21.The umbrella rack 37 is made from a single piece of sheet metal bent toform a front plate 38 and then curved as indicated at 39 and 40 to formback plates 41 and 42. The ends of the back plates bend inwardly at 43and 44 to positions connecting the outer faces of the socket 33. Thesecontacting faces of the umbrella rack and the socket 33 are thensuitably connected.

Examination of the umbrella rack of Fig. 2 will reveal that the loweredges of each of the curves 3% and 40 are cut away as shown in 45 toaccommodate the cross piece 22 between the front and rear plates of theumbrella rack. The heighth of the cut-away portion 45 is greater thanthat of the heighth of the cross piece 22 in order to accommodate analuminum drip tray 46 therein. The drip tray 46 comprises a receptacle47 and a handle 48. The handle 48 is curved to conform to the outercurvature of the umbrella rack ends 39 and 40. The bottom of the driptray rests upon the upper surface of the cross piece. This support ofthe bottom of the drip tray prevents distortion by the points ofumbrellas being supported in the umbrella rack.

The top of the umbrella rack 37 is closed by umbrella holders 49. Eachof the holders 49 is formed by aluminum and comprises a plurality ofspaced umbrella openings 50 therein with the edges thereof bentdownwardly. The edges of the holders are bent downwardly to fit aboutthe outer surfaces of the umbrella rack, as indicated at 51. The holdersare secured to the umbrella rack by crimping the edges of the umbrellaopenings 50 to the inner surfaces of the front plate 33 and the backplatesv 41 and 42.

An inclined perforated footwear rack 52, which is similar to theshelves, is mounted upon the base forwardly of the umbrella rack 37. Theinclined rack is for accommodating rubber footwear and the like. Therear edge of the inclined rack 52 is upturned as indicated at 53 and isfastened to the front plate 33 of the umbrella rack. A triangularlyshaped bracket 54 is mounted upon the upper surface of the base stem 23and is fastened to the lower surface of the inclined rack 52. The frontedge of the footwear rack has a flange 55 attached thereto in order toprevent articles placed upon the rack from sliding therefrom.Consequently, not only is the inclined rack 52 firmly supported upon thebase, but it also acts as a reinforcing member to impart rigidity to thebase section.

With the above description in mind, it can be seen that the wardroberack of this invention essentially comprises three components: the shelfsection, the vertical post and the base section.

In Fig. 7 there is illustrated another modification of the wardroberack 1. The modified rack is indicated at 66 and similarly comprises ashelf section 67, vertical posts 68 and a base section 69. Anexamination of Fig.

7 will reveal that the shelf section 67 is similar in all respects tothe shelf section 2, except that it is longer and has a pair of socketback members 70 thereon. Similarly, the base section 69 is similar tothe base section 3 but has an elongated footwear rack supported upon adouble T base 71, with umbrella racks 72 and 73 being positioned uponthe rear member of the T base opposite each of the front pieces. Sincethe modified rack, as illustrated in Fig. 7, essentially comprises twoof the racks as shown in Fig. '1, the capacity of themodified rack issomewhat more than double the rack'of Fig. 1.

Thus it can be seen that the wardrobe racks of this invention representa distinct advance over the art. It Will be noted that the umbrellaracks are mounted substantially parallel to the coat hanger positions.Each of the umbrella openings will correspond to one of the coat hangerpositions to readily identify each umbrella with the coat supported uponthe valet. In addition, the position of the umbrella rack eliminates thesandwiching of umbrellas between coats hanging upon the rack.

The wardrobe rack of this invention comprises a simplified constructionbut is exceptionally stable and rigid. The wardrobe rack in Fig. 1 mayreadily support a load of up to about 40 pounds suspended from either ofthe extreme coat hanger positions. Consequently, it is not necessary toevenly distribute the coats upon the rack. Even if a majority of thewearing apparel is grouped upon one end of the wardrobe rack, it willstill maintain its stability. Furthermore, the inclined footwear rack isreadily accessible to persons availing themselves of the use of thisvalet. Here, too, it is possible to position the rubber footwear uponthe rack in position corresponding to the coat hanger position and tothe umbrella holder position. Consequently, the problem of determiningwhich pieces of apparel belong to which person is largely eliminated bythe use of this rack.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modificationin order to adapt it to different usages and conditions, and,accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within thisinvention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as this invention is:

1. A wardrobe rack or the like having an elongated base, said basehaving members at each end thereof, an umbrella rack mounted on saidelongated base, said rack comprising a sheet metal plate having reversedbends therein to form a front face and two rear faces, the lower edge ofeach reversed bend being notched to receive said elongated base wherebysaid front face and said rear faces will straddle and closely receivesaid elongated base to impart rigidity to the structure comprising theumbrella rack and the base, and means on the upper end of said rack forpositioning umbrellas within said rack.

2. A wardrobe rack or the like having an elongated base, said basehaving members at each end thereof, an

umbrella rack mounted upon said elongated base, said rack comprising asheet metal plate having reversed bends therein to form a front face andtwo rear'faces, the lower edge of each reversed bend being notched toreceive said elongated base whereby said front face and said rear faceswill straddle and closely receive said elongated base to provide asecure attachment betwen said umbrella rack and said base so that saidbase and umbrella rack assembly is rigid, said notches having a greaterdepth than the heighth of said elongated base to define a space betweenthe bottom of said notch and the top surface of said base, a drip trayslidably received upon said elongated base and passing through saidnotch, means on said drip tray for positioning said tray within saidrack, and means on the upper end of said rack for positioning umbrellaswithin said rack.

3. A wardrobe rack comprising a T base having a cross piece and a frontpiece extending perpendicularly from the mid-point thereof, an umbrellarack mounted on said cross piece, said rack comprising a sheet metal.plate having reversed bends therein to form a front face and two rearfaces, the lower edge of each reversed bend being notched to receivesaid cross piece whereby said front face and said rear faces willstraddle said cross piece to impart rigidity to the '1" base andumbrella rack assembly, said notches having a greater depth than theheighth of said cross piece to define a space between the bottom of saidnotch and the top surface of said cross piece, a drip tray slidablyreceived upon said cross piece and passing through said notches, meanson said drip tray for positioning said tray within said rack, means onthe other end of said rack for positioning umbrellas within said rack, asocket upstanding from the intersection of said cross piece and thefront piece of said T base and between the front face and ends of therear faces ofv said umbrella rack, and a reinforcing member adapted foruse as a footwear rack mounted on said T base and secured to the frontface of said umbrella rack and said front piece of the T base, saidsocket being adapted for removably receiving a shelf supporting post; 39

4. A wardrobe rack or the like having a T base comprising a cross pieceand a front piece extending perpendicularly from the mid-point thereof,an umbrella rack mounted on the cross piece of said T base, said rackcomprising a sheet metal plate having two reverse bends therein to forma front face'and two rear faces, the lower edge of each reverse bendbeing notched to receive said cross piece whereby said front face andsaid rear faces will closely receive said cross piece to impart rigidityto the structure comprising the umbrella rack and the T base, and meanson the upper end of said umbrella rack for positioning umbrellastherein.

5. In a wardrobe rack or the like having an elongated base, said basecomprising members at each end thereof, an umbrella rack mounted on saidelongated base, said rack comprising a sheet metal plate having reversebends therein to form a front face and two rear faces, the lower edge ofeach reverse bend being notched to receive said elongated base so thatsaid front face and said rear faces will closely receive said elongatedbase to impart rigidity to the structure comprising the umbrella rackand the base, means on the other end of said umbrella rack forpositioning umbrellas therein, and an inclined reinforcing memberadapted for a footwear rack secured to said base and the front face ofsaid umbrella rack forwardly of said umbrella rack to impart rigidity tosaid base and umbrella rack.

6. In a wardrobe rack or the like having a base, said base having anelongated base-supporting member and an umbrella rack, said umbrellarack mounted on said elongated member, said umbrella rack comprising asheet metal plate having reverse bends therein to form a front face andtwo rear faces, the lower edge of each reverse bend being notched toreceive said elongated base member whereby said front face and said rearfaces will closely receive said elongated base member to impart rigidityto the structure comprising the umbrella rack and the base, means on theupper end of said umbrella rack for positioning umbrellas therein, and asocket upstanding on said base between said front face and said rearfaces and adapted for holding a shelf-supporting vertical columntherein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS462,249 Freer Nov. 3, 1891 584,678 Earle June 15, 1897 1,013,662 Kramer.Tan. 2, 1912 1,231,993 Becker July 3, 1917 1,290,290 Morio Jan. 7, 19191,690,754 Rosenthal Nov. 6, 1928 1,824,682 ONeil Sept. 22, 19311,824,923 Parsons Sept. 29, 1931 1,961,839 Bales June 5, 1934 2,011,357Ford Aug. 13, 1935 2,076,099 Smith et al. April 6, 1937 2,107,640Magnuson Feb. 8, 1938 2,403,164 Ahrens et al. July 2, 1946 Simjian Aug.26, 1952

